Description:
Currently, at many dive sites, NOAA cannot perform “working” dives deeper than 100 feet or using nitrox breathing mixtures due to the OSHA requirement for a multi-lock, multi-person hyperbaric chamber at the dive site. Such chambers are primarily constructed of metal, are heavy, occupy a substantial footprint, and are not easily transported. Although NOAA has two of these chambers containerized in eight by twenty foot ISO shipping containers, because of their size and weight they cannot be used on many of NOAA’s smaller vessels, nor can they be quickly and easily shipped to various locations around the world where NOAA divers operate. The development of a compact, portable, and light-weight hyperbaric chamber designed to accommodate two occupants would provide NOAA, and the wider diving community, a system that would address OSHA requirements and allow NOAA to conduct important research deeper than 100 feet or when using nitrox breathing mixtures.
